Page 53 - Chronicles of Darkness

Sample Cults
Sample Cult: The Chosen of Mammon
Mammon believes in the almighty dollar, and its inherent power. Followers of Mammon are expected to
obtain material wealth and power at any cost. Fortunately, their networks help initiates quickly claim promo-
tions and transfers into more prominent areas of influence.
Cultists: Hedge fund manager, mailboy on a mission, outsourcer, personal assistant to the stars, talent
scout, third generation CEO
Initiation Benefits
• All initiates learn to cut through red tape to fulfill their later duties. They gain a Politics Specialty in
Bureaucracy.
•• Full members must learn to speak, read, and write in Aramaic. They gain the Language Merit
(Aramaic) free of charge.
••• As a cultist delves into the mysteries of Mammon, she gains access to greater cult resources. Spend
two dots between Contacts, Allies, Resources, or Retainers reflecting this relationship.
•••• The self-centered and power-obsessed priests of Mammon gain the Thief of Fate (•••) Merit. For
this reason, priests are prohibited from touching other cultists.
••••• The high priestess of Mammon benefits from the tithes of her already wealthy followers. She gains
three dots of Resources. Additionally, she may make a Resources ••••• purchase once per month
without limitation, by drawing from the cult’s coffers.
Sample Cult: Sisters of the Machine Gun, Brothers of the Bomb
The Brothers and Sisters band together with their rudimentary understanding of something they call “the
God-Machine” in order to prevent its ascendancy to whatever mysterious power it strives for. They’ve
repurposed artifacts and reverse-engineered their power into more technological weapons to fight back
the darkness. The Brothers and Sisters tend toward universities and other places of learning, where a bit of
esoteric knowledge can bleed through the mundane and open eyes to the truths of the universe.

Cultists: God-Machine survivor, librarian-turned-networker, militant defender (Sister Machine Gun),
second-generation mentor, tech expert (Brother Bomb)
Initiation Benefits
• New recruits, while not yet trusted, receive training to better spot the influence of the God-Machine.
They gain an Occult Specialty in The God-Machine.

•• Small cells of the Brothers and Sisters network through a handful of active initiates. For this reason,
all initiates gain Contacts • (Brothers and Sisters) free of charge.
••• Respected initiates that have proven they’re likely to survive more than a few years are taught the
secrets of repurposing holy artifacts into weapons. By destroying such an artifact, they can give one
weapon the ability to hurt spirits and ghosts.
•••• At higher ranks within the organization, members are assigned wards and students. Take three dots in
Retainers, allocated as the player sees fit (that is, one three-dot Retainer, three one-dot Retainers, etc.).
••••• The highest-ranking Brothers and Sisters were mostly first contact survivors. They’ve seen more of
the God-Machine’s influence than most anyone still standing. They gain a modified version of the
Encyclopedic Knowledge Merit relating directly to the God-Machine.

the cult exists. Usually it’s tied in with the cult’s history and In addition to standing, a Mystery Cult Initiation Merit of-
recent background. Second is a Relic. This is an item that fers benefits at each level of influence. Develop these as well.
grounds members’ faith. For example, a piece of the God- The following are guidelines; use them to craft your cults:
Machine, an ancient text bound in human flesh, or the
mummified flesh of a saint. The last is a Doctrine. Every • A Skill Specialty or one-dot Merit, pertaining to
cult is defined by its rules and traditions. the lessons taught to initiates.
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the face in the mirror-Characters